Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 307
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!" We've all heard that phrase before. And it's likely we learned it at a very young age. Kids can be brutal with insults and name-calling. When I was a kid, there weren't classes, or counselors, or programs, or school assemblies to help me deal with being called names or being "bullied". It was just a part of growing up. I still remember most of the words these bullies said to this day. They were words that we don't use in...
Confusion. And deceit. The world is full of it. With the passing of every election cycle, it seems to me that it continually worsens. Rather than telling the truth and being forthright with the American people, candidates use fear mongering tactics and deception to create confusion. Although trillions of bits of information are at our fingertips in our modern society, it is increasingly difficult to disseminate the truth from the falsities and inaccuracies. There is so much misinformation, even...
It's nearly 2am, again, and I find myself engulfed in work that must be done, no matter the day or the time. September is always a hard month on the farm. The past few weeks, we have been pushing hard to cultivate fields, plant wheat, harvest chickpeas, harvest millet, and ship grain. Honestly, that's just the tip of the projects, as there are multiple things intertwined so that everything operates in a functional and productive manner. And that's just on the farm. Dry crop farming in...
I've sat down several times this past month to write this column. Each time it's been a different topic, and each time I was interrupted by something at the farm that was more pressing at that moment. First, I thought, "I'll just write more about politics. Afterall, it's a heated election year and I should take the few words I have to help enlighten the topics of politicians, political agendas, and the power of our voice through our vote. In this seemingly tumultuous time, what could be more...
It's the season again. I'm a farmer, so I primarily run my life depending on which season it is. Typically, while everyone else is on camping trips and hanging out at the lake during the summer season, we are working. You can't grow much here in Wyoming during the 5 to 6 months of winter we get to enjoy each year, so we must seize the moment. Summer means tilling, planting, harvesting, and a whole lot of other things that take up nearly every minute. There's honestly just not much downtime. It...
It's hard to leave the farm. Especially in the summer. It seems like there is always work to do, no matter how much progress we've made. I decided long ago that if I let our farm dictate our personal life, we'd never leave. Over the years, we've made a very conscious effort to take short trips away from the hustle and bustle of our operation, to enjoy our boys and our time together as family in a different environment, all while hopefully exposing our boys to a world outside of where we live. My...
I love Spring. Call me crazy, but cool, foggy, drizzly days are some of my favorites. I love stepping outside after a spring rain and smelling the air. It smells perfect. The sweetness from the blossoms on the apple trees and the aroma from the fresh flowers. The fresh, wholesome smell of newly plowed soil. The clean scent of newly mowed grass and the feel of the moist, dense air. As I look around my farm, I see so many wonderful sights. I see a robin sitting on her three perfectly shaped blue...
"This is freaking me out, Ron!", exclaimed Cristy. In retrospect, driving blindly in the night as we inched along some random road in a classic Western Wyoming blizzard was probably not the wisest choice we had ever made, especially at the age of 18 with no way to contact anyone if we had trouble. But then again, it was part of the adventure and we just needed to persevere a little bit longer. My fellow state FFA officer, Cristy Dicklich, and I were traveling around the state presenting...
I hate the wind. In over 50 years as a Wyoming resident, I have always detested it. As a farmer, it is heartbreaking to observe the life-giving soil moisture disappear as the wind wreaks havoc on the fields we will be planting soon. Each morning, I listen to my friend, Don Day, hoping that he will offer me a reprieve from the elements and reassure me that rain is on its way. There is no doubt that living in Wyoming has plenty advantages. Unfortunately, the weather isn't always among them. I...
Veterans Day! A day to honor and celebrate our former and present fighting men and women, who strive diligently to help keep our country free. There are many older veterans who would be willing to be called back into the fray and take up arms and fight again if necessary. There is a camaraderie among veteran's, whether they are sharing war stories, peacetime stories or ribbing each other on their choice of military branch. However, they all know that every soldier, sailor and airman has a...
The Bushnell Lions Club offered a new $500 scholarship to one high school senior graduating in the spring of 2023 from Pine Bluffs High School, Kimball High School, or Banner County High School who will attend college or trade school in the fall of 2023. The 2023 scholarship recipient was Cathy Purdum, daughter of Travis and Dawna Purdum of Bushnell. Cathy graduated from Pine Bluffs High School in May 2023. She plans to attend Eastern Wyoming College in Torrington Wyoming to study Veterinary...
The clouds rolled in and the wind cooled things down for a bit as the Bushnell Easter Egg Hunt began. But even with the weather changing a bit, the Bushnell Lions Club pulled off another great year of celebrating. They had many dozens of eggs, decorated by the Kimball Public Schools third grade class and the residents of the Kimball County Manor, placed throughout Hammond Park and around the Trinity United Methodist Church. Lots of children from the area participated in the hunt for real eggs...
We've all heard the saying that, "A country that cannot feed itself, cannot secure itself." But what does that actually mean? In short, it means the more we depend on other countries to produce the things we can produce in this country, the more vulnerable we become to relying on other countries to provide us with what might arguably be the most important thing any of us do on a daily basis: eat. If we don't have a reliable, plentiful, and safe food supply, we are ALL in trouble. It's easy to...
"There have always been ghosts in the machine. Random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols." (Dr. Alfred Lanning, I Robot 2004) As time marches on humans are becoming more and more dependent on technology. Asking a piece of electronic equipment to turn on the lights, lock the doors or fill this bowl with 12 ounces of water. However, the machine that is the topic of conversation here is the G5 AED Defibrillator. The Pine Bluffs Senior Center has recently...
On a cold blustery winter day, there is nothing better than cuddling up in your favorite chair with a warm blanket, a hot cup of coffee, tea or cocoa (whatever your taste buds desire) and opening a good book. Suspense, romance, fantasy, action/adventure or children's - books whatever your preference a good book can take you out of the real world to another place or time. You become immersed in the story as it plays out on the pages. The characters become your friends, you laugh with them, cry...
Several veterans were joined by Senator John Barasso this weekend as the Donald Eisenhauer American Legion Post 60 celebrated a brick laying ceremony recognizing the time and sacrifice that many of them made during their lives. "Wyoming is unique in that cowboys never quit, and cowboys never complain, and neither will the United States Military. They will never let us down" stated the senator in his opening remarks to those in attendance. Barrasso shared many of the unique experiences of his...
After a short break, Governor Mark Gordon once again took to the podium to continue to keep Wyomingites informed of the current COVID situation. Currently there are 866 positive cases of Corona in Wyoming 106 of those cases coming up in the last week. This is double the amount of cases that were confirmed in the first week of June, and while there are 852 cases of recovering or recovered cases Gordon is concerned that we are seeing a rising trend. “What that means is that sadly, we are trending higher with the 232 active cases. It seems to me t...
For the family members of a soldier or sailor there is a collective sigh of relief when that person manages to come home safely from war, but for many of those service members the war comes home with them. Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD is a problem for many service members that is finally making itself known to the general population. After generations of our nation’s heroes have found themselves homeless, troubled, and even suicidal the nation is finally starting to see that not all our service members are coming home okay. W...
June 18 saw the first Pine Bluffs Recreation Pet Parade in the park. Hosted by recreation director Sonja Fornstrom, the small group was entertained by a dog named Tinkerbell and a feisty little rabbit courtesy of Diana Sanchez Everyone that attended was awarded a participation ribbon, and Tinkerbell the dog was able to show off her wardrobe. Diana Sanchez's bunny won a blue ribbon for being the most entertaining pet in attendance. A big thank you sent out to Desiree Johnson for bringing...
This last Saturday the Pine Bluffs Volunteer Fire Company put on an Advanced Extrication training for firemen with all levels of experience. Firemen from District four and five worked all day to prepare for the possibility of having to pull someone from their car. Derek Walls, Fire Chief for Pine Bluffs was eager to provide this type of training and expressed how valuable it would be in the future to make extractions easier and faster. For individuals trapped in their vehicles, the faster they...
In a show of a little more normality than we have seen in the past few months, the council was able to hand out their Mayoral Scholarships this past Monday. While the students did not get to finish out the year in class, they were still working hard to make grades that allowed for them to get into their college of choice. This year the council awarded two scholarships to two of the many deserving seniors. Reagan Pachel was the first recipient and is planning to use those funds to attend the...
Monday’s town council meeting saw yet another discussion about opening the pool. While residents find themselves angry and confused over the inability to open the pool this year, council has determined that the cost of trying to open and maintain the pool for the short amount of time that it would be open is just not conducive to the already skimmed down budget. Residents were available to discuss some of the options that they had come up with to help with some of those costs. Residents discussed the fact that they had come up with possible don...
The Wyoming Rodeo Association came to Pine Bluffs this weekend to hold their annual small-town rodeo. This event occurs in many of the surrounding states in their small towns and the association is doing their best to ensure that the state of Wyoming and the rodeo remain synonymous. While the COVID situation was a factor in some of the entries, there were still plenty of participants for the two-day affair. Pine Bluffs local Charity Hoar was able to snag third place in the Breakaway event and wh...
Pine Bluffs Sunday Market has started once again and is doing simply fine at its new location at the community center. While the first market did not have as many vendors as we have seen in the past, the next one is promising even more vendors. While the turn out for this market was a little light, more options will prove to be a good draw for more customers. With the wind doing its best to knock everyone down representatives from Scentsy, Back Yard Creations, and Paparazzi were available for...
